Finland is a modern progressive state, but for some reason, it has never gotten around to providing children and women who are in jail the right to have a toilet in the cell. Minister of Justice, Tuija Brax, promised before the end of the year any prison which still lacks toilet facilities for women will have the problem solved. In many jails where children are in cells with their mothers, the group has to defecate in buckets! For some reason there was never enough money for such high expense items. According to Tuomo Karjenmaki, director of the Hameenlinna Prison, “most of the prisons for men have been renovated and all cells have been equipped with toilets, but for some reason, female inmates have been forgotten.”

It is difficult to imagine in the 21st century that women who are in jail with children still are placed in “cells.” Surely, there is enough money to provide apartment style living conditions for female prisoners with children.

There are studies and there are studies, so one must evaluate any study of human behavior with a grain of salt. A recent study by the University of Copenhagen concludes that children who have lesbian mothers are less likely to encounter serious mental illness in their lives. The researchers believe this emerges from dealing with issues in their lives at an earlier age and learning how to handle conflict. Their mothers have endured many serious issues throughout their lives as they seek to attain a stable marital relationship and raise children who may encounter prejudice at school and among playmates.

There is a certain logic in the reasons advanced why children grow up mentally stronger than those who have less serious mental strains in childhood. Of course, dealing with prejudice can also have the reverse result and lead to greater mental illness. We will, for the moment, accept the findings of this study.

She was eight years old and boarding a commuter train in Helsinki when a man pushed her off the train back onto the platform and muttered, “get out of my way, you little monkey.” Amai Farah Abdi is the child of Somali immigrants who are trying to create a new life far from the madness and chaos of their native land. Her father said Amai had merely come to get money from him to purchase a transit pass when she encountered the bigot on the train. Fortunately, for Amai there was a decent woman who gently got her back on the train and protected the child from further abuse.

Anna Rastas wrote a doctoral thesis on the topic of treatment of immigrant children in Finland including those who were adopted and those who came with parents. After interviewing dozens of children she encountered repeated stories about prejudice and bigotry. Rastas believes many Finns are so unaccustomed to prejudice against children they are bewildered in how to react. Do they speak out, watch and shake a head or take action? Children often are always confused and many do not speak to parents and teachers about these incidents.

It might be wise for Finnish educators to develop programs which confront these issues and assist both victims and those on the sidelines of the importance of not merely speaking about them, but taking legal action.

In the aftermath of 9/11 the world entered on its great fear campaign about the evil of terrorism and the need for everyone to be careful and watch out for men who lean down to touch their shoes because you will never know if they are about to explode a bomb. In New South Wales in Australia, there have been 840 cases of when children were strip searched by authorities and in only six percent of the occasions was any adult being present to protect their rights. The NSW Ombudsman made clear, “in our view, a support person should be present for all but exceptional circumstances in which it is not possible to do so. The low level of compliance with this safeguard is of concern.”

I really don’t understand why the Ombudsman did not recognize the serious nature of the situation. There were children aged 10 to 17 who were strip searched and who knows what explosives or tiny a-bombs were in the possession of such criminals? Just think, exactly what form of criminal action could a ten year old take who is semi-naked and surrounded by heavily built policemen?

Iraqi security forces have arrested four children they claim were recruited by al-Qaeda to carry out suicide attacks in and around the city of Kirkuk. General Abdelamir al-Zaidi said; “Special forces units have arrested in organization of children consisting of four individual under the age of 14 who call themselves the Birds of Paradise.” He claimed children are recruited to assist in suicide bombing and help set roadside bombs. The use of children is but one of many examples of how al-Qaeda reaches into the fabric of a society and seizes control of youth. The real question to ask is–why is youth attracted to al-Qaeda? Which aspects of its philosophy of violence appeal to young minds?

In the end, the conflict with al-Qaeda is centered in ideas, not just military action. It is up to Muslim societies to deal with this conflict, not the west.

They come by the thousands across the dangerous border leading from Zimbabwe into South Africa where they hope an escape can be found from hunger, poverty, and disease that President Mugabe’s policies have created in their native land. They are the children of war, condemned to live in poverty on the fringes of South African society. Prince Jelom is a 13 year-old refugee who fled Zimbabwe and now sleeps in a bus shelter or works an 11 hour day selling eggs or carrying bags or doing whatever will get him some food for the day. He told a reporter that he left Zimbabwe because he wanted to go to school and needed money for books and paper. “Many people told me that if you are not learned, you are nothing” and he simply wanted an education and food.

The street children can be found in South African cities, they have dreams but absolutely no understanding how to translate them into reality. They obtain a night’s lodging at a church and some food for the day, but most of the time they are scrounging for survival while slowly hopes for school get replaced with securing enough food for the day. They are the casualties of Robert Mugabe’s war on his own people.

South African leaders prefer supporting their long term ally, Robert Mugabe for old services in the fight against colonialism rather than being concerned about current needs of the children of Zimbabwe.

A school in Sweden has decided to ensure their children eat lunch and prevent any stray children from entering the school cafeteria in search of some wonderful food that is offered in the cafeteria. At the Lilja school in Vannas, students must give a fingerprint accompanied by a four digit code in order to receive a plate of school food. The plan prevents unauthorized people from eating free in the cafeteria.

The case of the fingerprint is now headed for a court decision. Is making children provide a fingerprint an infringement of their right to privacy?

Frankly, it is hard to believe any normal person would sneak into a school cafeteria in search of food. They would be better off at a homeless shelter.

A recent study by BBC Wildlife Magazine, revealed startling information concerning the growing distance between the natural world and the world of children being raised in the 21st century. The survey revealed children have lost touch with the natural world and are unable to even identify common animals and plants. The study indicated that playing in the countryside was children’s least popular way of spending their spare time, and they would rather see friends or play on their computer than go for a walk or play outdoors. Less than two-thirds(62%) were able to identify a frog and only 12% knew what a primrose was. About 45% could identify an oak tree while 42% mistook a newt for a lizard.

Sir Richard Attenborough warned “the wild world is becoming so remote to children that they miss out.. and an interest in the natural world doesn’t grow as it should. Nobody is going to protect the natural world unless they understand it.” many experts blame the widening gulf between children and nature to over-protective parents and the hostility of conservationists who fear children will damage the environment. There is less exposure to free play in the natural world than what occurred in past history.

Dr. Martin Maudsey, of Playwork Partnerships, notes “something magical occurs when children and wild space mix.” I was raised in the slums of the south Bronx in New York City but like most of my friends spent hours wandering through parks seeing the natural world of animals. In the history of humanity, many brilliant ideas emerged from a human making a connection between the natural world and a problem being confronted.